Safe and Sound
by I-am-the-survivor
Summary: She can't save them, Melinda realizes. She's always too late.


**Lord almighty this one took a long time. I'd give my normal excuses as to why I haven't been active in the fandom but tbh it was just lack of inspiration. Anyways hope you enjoy**

Daily missions are routine a good portion of the time. There's rarely a moment of peace amongst the base, Melinda notices. Two missions in one day, however, is a rarity that puts everyone in a sour mood. They must turn around from retrieving an 084 in the del viento cave to stop any assassination attempts of the US's first elected inhuman senator.

The sigh slips from her lips a little too loudly drawing forth the attention of Coulson trudging through the mud next to her. A playful smile etches at his lips. "Tired already?"

"Dreading the heels already." She quips back. The pants of Daisy, Elena, and Mack echo from behind them.

"Wouldn't it be easier for me to run and retrieve this… what exactly are we looking for?" She hears Elena ask.

"I feel like you just answered your own question." Daisy laughs. "That's the point of it being an 084. We don't know what exactly 'it' is. So no, it would not be easier for you to just run and get it."

They arrive at an opening as the bickering dies down. Phil quickly steps into the leadership role commanding to every one of them, "May and Daisy, you're with me. Mack and Elena you're on guard."

"Yes sir." The two nod taking their respective places. Melinda takes the lead shining the flashlight into the dark caverns. A podium shines in the middle of the rocks, a gold plated object sitting on top of it.

"Holy Indiana Jones." Daisy whispers with a small chuckle. "Are we sure there's no boobytraps?" A quick glare from May has the girl dipping her head to the ground. "Sorry." She mutters.

Melinda walks up to the podium hovering a device over the object. "This is what we're looking for that's for sure." She stores the device in her bag carefully removing the 084 from its pedestal.

"Melinda!" As soon as she picks the object up it seems to unfold in her fingers revealing cryptic writings and drawings etched into the otherwise smooth metal. She pulls away not even realizing what Phil had been shouting about. The explosion blew her backwards skidding across the rough floor of the cave.

A soft groan leaves her lips as she twists to assess her injuries. Daisy is on her knees beside her in an instant supporting her head. Through the haze she spies Coulson rushing over to the two of them.

"Oh god you're bleeding." Daisy inspects a spot stained on her uniform. Melinda shakes her head in defiance.

"I'm fine. Just rattled." The younger woman however doesn't move. Melinda's eyes survey her falling on a growing red spot on her abdomen. "Daisy." She breathes switching places with her in an instant.

"Oh…" Daisy breathes wincing at the sudden onslaught of pain.

"Elena! Get Simmons now!" Coulson is by her side shucking off his jacket placing it on the steadily bleeding would. Melinda's fingers shake as she tries to keep Daisy awake. "Eyes on me okay?" Daisy nods jerkily chest heaving in effort not to shout as Coulson presses harder against the wound. "You're going to be okay."

Crimson quickly soaks through the jacket now out of their control. Her face is so pale… With shaking fingers Melinda strokes the hair out of Daisy's face. "You know." She coughs. "I always thought I'd go out like a badass. Make a grand sacrifice."

Melinda shushes her now shaking her head. "You're going to be okay."

"May?" Her voice sounds so small. She almost swears it was that of a child. "Will you take care of my dad? He… He doesn't need to know what happened. But he's lonely you know?"

"I will. I promise." The grip on her arm suddenly slacks as the light drains from the girl's eyes. She can't even help it as a sob tears from her throat clutching the girl closer to her chest as if she could protect her any more.

"Melinda!" Her body jerks as she feels the 084 weighing in her fingers once more. She clutches the damned thing to keep it from opening. Her head whips around to see Daisy and Coulson staring at her, concerned looks on each of their faces.

"Get down!" She shouts. They duck just in time for her body to fly backwards once more. Just like before Daisy is hovering over her within seconds. Melinda's eyes scan the girl's body panicked.

"Hey. Relax." Daisy sighs. "I'm not the one that just got knocked back by an explosive."

"I saw…" Melinda wracks her mind trying to come up with a response. "I'm fine." She grunts pulling herself to her feet. She looks at the 084 in her fingers before shoving it into her bag. "Let's get out of here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _Take care of my dad…"_

"Hey!" Melinda's head snaps up at the voice calling in the co-pilot's seat. She's not even sure when Phil even came in but his hand is resting on her arm. "You looked a million miles away Mel. Are you sure you're good to fly?"

"I'm fine."

He shifts with a frown, "How did you know that explosion was going to happen?"

"You're not going to let it go are you?"

"Have you ever known me to back down from a challenge?" He teases half heartedly. Yet she can see the concern in his gaze.

"When I picked it up I saw…" A shiver roars down her spine. "I saw the explosion but I didn't warn you guys. Daisy got hit by shrapnel and she died in my arms."

"Melinda…" He breathes. "Hey…" He reaches over hitting autopilot in front of her fingers. She gives in turning her chair to face him now. "It wasn't real. She's alive okay?" His thumb swipes a tear that she didn't even know escaped. She leans into the warmth of his touch allowing the comfort to flood over her.

The blaring of a siren echoing through the cockpit causes them to jump away from each other. Her eyes comb over the machinery in front of her trying to find out what is going on.

"The lab." Phil gasps. She's on her feet right behind him. Her heart leaps to her throat as she hears the echoes of screams.

"Jemma!" It's Fitz's voice she recognizes first followed by the pounding on glass doors. The siren steadily gets louder as they approach. They round the corner spying the younger man pounding the glass doors of the lab, Jemma standing just on the other side of the door eyes puffy and red.

"What the hell is going on here." Melinda demands. "Status report. Now." Jemma's back straightens as she maintains her professional persona once more.

"Upon touching the 084 it unfolded in by hands and released a neurotoxin. I shut down all of the vents in order to stop the toxin from spreading and locked the doors. I would estimate that I have approximately three minutes."

"Jemma please." Fitz begs.

"I can't risk release of the neurotoxin and exposing the rest of you to it too."

"There has to be something that we can do." Jemma slowly settles onto the ground leaning her forehead against the glass.

"Sit with me Fitz." She begs. "I don't want to die alone." Two sobs shatter her heart as he lays his head on the glass as well.

"We can fix this. We've done it before. We can do it again." Phil tugs at Melinda's arm but she doesn't budge. Melinda moves quickly grabbing a fire hydrant and banging it against the glass.

"Melinda stop!" She can see the glass beginning to crack. "Melinda!" Jemma's body goes limp sliding to the floor. A scream rips through her throat as she beats against the glass harder.

"Melinda!" She gasps as she's suddenly back in the cave once more. The 084 shifts between her fingers and she lets it.

"Get down!" Again she's skidding across the ground with a soft groan. She really should move quicker.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Neurotoxin exposure!" Jemma scoffs settling the oxygen masks on the three of their faces. "Honestly you are all lucky that Elena got you out of there so quickly otherwise who knows the damage that could have been done!"

"I've got a good idea." Melinda mumbles under her breath making herself absent from the room.

As she's making her way towards the cockpit a hand catches her wrist halting her step. Phil's looking at her, cerulean eyes full of concern and intrigue. "Are you sure you're okay? You took direct hit from an explosive."

"I'm fine." She snaps a little too harshly causing him to flinch back.

"You don't look fine. You looked a million miles away back there." He places his hands on her shoulders the warmth weighing through her uniform.

"Someone is going to die." She whispers. "I don't know who or when but someone is going to die and I'm going to go back and-"

"Whoa Lin. Slow down." He looks around before pulling her towards the cockpit. Nobody else needs to know what is going on. Once they are safely inside he speaks again. "What do you mean someone is going to die."

"It's happened already. First Daisy and then Simmons. That's how I knew about the explosion and the neurotoxin."

"You saw them die?" His grip on her is tighter now. He's looking at her with such pity. Her blood might boil if she wasn't so far in the horrific memories.

"Daisy was pierced by shrapnel. She died in my arms… Simmons was different. She was the one who opened it and released it in the lab. She locked herself in and…" She takes a shaky breath trying to maintain her composure as tears threatened to escape. He pulls her into a tight embrace. "I couldn't save them." She hiccups into the safety of his chest where nobody can see the stubborn tears that slip.

He just presses a kiss to the top her head, holding her until she calms once more. "We'll protect them. I promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Melinda has been on edge since their talk. Nobody has died yet. Now they're in charge of protecting the senator. The man dresses way above his pay grade that's for sure, she notes as she catches a glimpse of his watch paired with his shoes. Out of the corner of her eye she spies Elena tugging on the hem of her dress to pull it down further.

"You look like you're about to give a speech." Melinda accuses at the jitters of the younger woman.

"First time undercover. Forgive me if I'm a little nervous." She sighs. Melinda looks over to the bar that Mack is positioned behind, cleaning it with a rag. His eyes are combing over the room looking for anyone suspicious. So far so good.

"Hey!" Melinda exclaims snatching the glass of champagne Elena had somehow acquired when she wasn't looking. She spies a waiter walking away from the two of them briskly. She gives Elena a displeased frown and the inhuman simply shrugs her shoulders.

"Just loosening up. You said to relax. We are undercover are we not?" Melinda hears Daisy chuckle through the comms.

"Don't encourage her." She snaps hearing the other woman go silent once more. "We need to stay sober in order to do our jobs efficiently. We're watching the senator not getting a buzz."

"Do you really think I can get drunk an-" She chokes on her words suddenly gasping. Her breathing becomes labored as her legs give out from underneath her. Melinda drops to her knees by her side as she begins to seize. Melinda's eyes fall on the glass still in her hand throwing it to the side. The glass shatters calling the attention of whoever hadn't looked over in curiosity already.

"Someone call 911!" She shouts in a panic. Elena's pained whimpers fill the air as she struggles to breathe. God why hadn't she even thought about poison. The watchdogs always used guns though never this…

"May what's happening!" Coulson demands as she struggles to help the girl. "May!"

" _Melinda!"_ The 084 slips from her fingers now as bitterness fills her. She'd failed again. She couldn't save her.

"Get down!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Melinda spots the waiter as soon as he steps into the room. Anger fills her heart but she needs to maintain her cover. Her eyes track the dark haired boy. Doesn't even look barely 20 and the watchdogs have looped him in already. At least if they're young that means they're more prone to mistakes.

"Let's dance." She smiles innocently at another guy pulling him into the middle of the room. She pretends to be interested in what she has to say but if she's being honest she hasn't even looked at him. Instead her eyes have followed the waiter the entire time. Just as he was getting ready to pass Elena, the stranger spins her. She takes the opportunity to "accidentally" stick her heel out tripping the passing waiter.

The glasses land with a loud crash spilling champagne all across the beautiful floor. Now it glitters with gold liquid and clear fragments. Her eyes remain trained on the boy though as he makes a hasty escape.

Elena throws her a startled look. Of course she would know that she doesn't do anything accidentally. "Don't drink anything." Melinda demands. Guilt fills the girl's face immediately caught in her intentions. "I think they're going to try to poison the senator."

"Poison? That's not how the watchdogs operate." Her eyebrows furrow.

"Just do as I say got it? You can hold a drink but don't take even a sip." Elena nods at the command.

Melinda keeps her eyes on all entrances watching for the return of the dark haired boy. His first plan was foiled but surely he wouldn't just give up right away.

"Daddy!" A little girl pushes past her darting towards the senator long blonde hair whipping behind her. The man kneels down wrapping his arms around who Melinda would assume to be his daughter. A small smile tugs at the edges of her lips when she spies a glint of silver just past the pair.

She walks over quickly back Mack is already six steps ahead of her throwing himself in front of the pair as another man lunges from out of the crowd swinging. The glint of silver she'd seen was a blade. She can only watch in horror as it sinks into Mack's skin.

She's not sure what's more deafening, the little girls scream or Elena's terror filled call of his name. The figure disappears into the crowd as soon as suddenly as he appeared. The senator hides his daughter away slipping away into the crowd as Elena drops to her knees frantically pressing on the wound.

Melinda can only watch numbly as the girl fumbles to save him. There's too much blood. The crimson is already forming a pool around the two. "May! Help me please." The girl sobs as she's tugging on his body but he's too heavy for her to move alone. His skin is already turning a sickly pale.

" _Melinda!"_ Coldness fills her heart. Who will she have to watch die next? Why is this happening to her? She can't save them. She's stuck in a cycle of watching the people she love die.

"Get down!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as she spots the second man she pulls out her icer and shoots him in the head. Gala be damned. Undercover be damned. They need to get the senator out of here before anything else can possibly happen.

"He had a knife. He was coming for the senator." She curtly explains to the demanding voices coming from the comes. "Get the car around here. We're leaving. Now." Melinda grabs the senator by the arm dragging him towards the exit not even caring that he demanded to know what is going on. She has neither the patience nor the energy to even begin to explain what she's gone through all day. She ushers the man into the car that has pulled up to the entrance pushing him inside.

Mack takes over the driver's seat from Fitz, the other switching wordlessly to the passenger's seat. Her, Elena, and the senator slip into the back as Mack floors it on the gas. The silence in the car is tense all the way to the highway. She knows the senator is staring at the gun she has clenched in her hands. They just barely make it on before a car knicks the back of theirs forcing Mack to course correct.

Melinda curses under her breath rolling down the window enough for her arm to slip through. She fires blindly ignoring Coulson's shout in her ear from the comms. They all brace as the car makes impact again causing them to slide and nearly spin out. They don't back off this time though flooring it and sending the car spinning off the road.

They crash through the bannister, her world turning upside down as the car flips. She shuts her eyes tightly hoping that this one will end soon. Her eyes open again when they still once more.

The car is turned on her side pressing her shoulder against the door, the bodies of the senator and Elena weighing heavily against her other side.

"Me…. Come in! Are you guys….. Melinda!" Her world doesn't snap back with Coulson calling her name this time. Her heart sinks as she looks to the side. Elena's arms are both severed right before the elbow. She's stirring but doesn't seem to be fully conscious. She frees her arm enough to check the senator's pulse.

Her heart settles in the pit of her stomach when she can't detect anything. Her mind keeps flashing back to the darting of blonde hair, a young voice calling for her father.

"M-may." A voice stutters from the front.

"Fitz." She breathes. "Are you okay?" She sees him shake his head with a groan.

"Mack is dead." His voice breaks with a sob. "Glass… it cut my axillary vein really bad." He stutters. "I'll be dead in two minutes."

She shifts trying to move to help but cries out in pain.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Fitz calls. Leave it to him to be concerned about her while he's bleeding out.

"My leg is trapped. I-" Her voice catches in her throat. "I can't help you Fitz."

"Stat…. Ort!" The voice in her ear demands.

"We were going to move you know?" She can almost hear the smile in Fitz's broken voice. "We spent months looking for an apartment. I was gonna surprise her with a puppy but I couldn't ever convince a tenant to let us have a dog." He chuckles. "Was gonna propose on her birthday too. Got my grandma's ring out and everything. Just got it polished."

"Come in." Coulson's voice crackles in her ear.

"Tell Jemma I love her May."

" _Melinda!"_ Bile fills her throat as she's in the cave once more. Hot tears rush to her eyes. She almost swears she can still feel the pain cutting through her leg.

"Get down!"

She doesn't even bother to answer Elena's prying questions as she shoots out the tires of a black SUV right before they enter the gala later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey." Phil's voice calls to her pulling her from her mind. "They're safe alright?"

"You don't know what I'm thinking." Melinda denies as they walk down the sidewalk. They transferred the senator to the safe house in one piece. Shooting out the tires had bought them an extra ten minutes of time on the highway in order to lose them.

"You were thinking about how much death you've seen." His hand slips into hers squeezing comfortingly. "I know you a lot better than you think."

"You didn't see them." She whispers. "I couldn't help the further I got. The things they asked me to do Phil I-" His lips press against her forehead. "I can't watch them die again. I can't do this anymore."

"I know." He whispers into his hair.

"What if it isn't over?" She asks more to herself than to him.

"We'll find a way to break this." His hand tips her chin to look up into his eyes.

"You can't promise that." Her voice is quiet in the dead of the night.

"After this… Why don't we break open the new bottle of Haig?" He suggests a small smile playing on his lips. She barely nods as his hand cups her cheek.

"Hey!" A voice calls out pulling him from her touch. Phil spins around to face the boy in the hoodie steadily approaching them. Melinda recognizes him as the waiter way too late. "You killed him! You shot my brother!"

The gunshot echoes through the empty streets. She whips out her gun firing back. He collapses sprawled on the sidewalk with a bullet nestled right between his eyes.

A soft laugh escapes Phil's lips before he falls too. A crimson spot grows on the white of his shirt.

"No…" Her voice is hoarse as if she'd been screaming for hours. "Not you too." She begs pressing her fingers against the wound. "Phil please." She sobs.

"It's going to be okay Lin." A shaking hand reaches up stroking the tears from her cheeks. "You gotta let go. It'll be alright."

"No!" She shouts angrily. "You're not allowed to leave me." A sob rips from her throat as his blood spills onto her fingers. "Just stay awake okay?" She asks.

"I'm sorry." He smiles sadly. The words sound so… final.

"No you're not allowed to say that."

"You know I love it when you trust me enough to let me hold you. Kind of reminds me of the old days. Do you remember when we'd fall asleep textbooks all around us?" He laughs.

"Stop it. I know what you're doing." She accuses.

"I love the little smile you have when you think I'm not looking."

"Phil stop."

"I love you Lin."

" _Melinda!"_ She can't stop the sob that escapes this time. Shoulders shaking as she screams the demand once more.

"Get down!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We'll find a way to break this, okay?" She almost cries as Phil says the same words again. She shakes her head tears building behind her eyes. Her fingers settle on her gun waiting for the other man to step into her view. She waits for his next words but they don't come. Rather she feels the warmth of his lips pressed against his.

Panic freezes across her veins. This wasn't supposed to happen. This didn't happen before.

Her fingers cling to his shirt pulling him further into her rather than pushing him away. He tastes like whiskey and cinnamon. She can't help but smile against his mouth as his fingers curl into her hair.

"Hey!" Her body tenses.

"I'm sorry." She whispers against his lips. She spins them around just in time for the gunshot to echo through the air. She fires back hitting the man right between his eyes once more.

The shot hits right between her ribs forcing her back onto the concrete. Warm hands guide her gently settling her onto the cold ground. He shucks off his jacket pressing it into the wound forcing a groan from her lips. He whips out his phone dialing quickly. "Elena! Bring Jemma now!" He cites the address before hanging up. The hand moves to stroke her hair back softly. "You're going to be okay."

"I couldn't let you die." She smiles sadly. "I'm sorry Phil…" Elena appears with a gust of wind, Jemma in her arms. She can hear Simmons briefly through fog. A cough wracks her body sputtering blood onto the sidewalk.

"You're going to be okay… I promise…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Melinda shoots up gulping for air greedily, head snapping around to understand her surroundings. Simmons was by her side, AED in both hands. Phil lingers by the door, eyes red rimmed and puffy.

Daisy's arms wrap around her neck tightly catching her off guard. She doesn't hesitate wrapping her arms against the younger girl clutching her to her chest. They're safe. She lets out a long shaky breath at the thought. Reluctantly Daisy leaves her grasp at the command of Simmons.

She's suddenly very aware the she can no longer feel the pain from where she was shot. Her fingers brush over the spot finding the skin to be smooth, undamaged aside from her other scars. "You didn't." She breathes out.

"What?"

"You didn't use that on me." She growls. They couldn't have used the GH325 on her. It's impossible. There isn't any more…

"Agent May relax. You just woke from a coma."

"How long was I out?" She demands.

"A week. What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was walking with Phil and we were attacked. I got shot."

"Agent May you weren't shot." Simmons exchanges a concerned glance with Daisy surveying her vitals carefully. "Upon grabbing the 084 you fell unconscious. You've been in this state ever since. Well… Until you flatlined."

"I…"

"I restarted your heart and you woke."

Cold realization floods over her chilling up her spine. "It wasn't real…" A soft laugh mixes with the burning tears. "It wasn't real…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, you alright?" Phil calls to her resting his hand on her shoulder. Simmons dismissed her after ensuring that all of her vitals were completely normal. There didn't appear to be any residual effects of being in the coma other than exhaustion.

"I wasn't in a coma." She shakes her head. "I was stuck in a nightmare."

"What do you mean?"

"I had to watch you die… All of you. I couldn't save you until…"

"Until?"

"I had to die." Her lip twitches as her emotions nearly betray her.

"Mel…"

"We need to stop wasting time." Her statement even catches her off guard. "I died from just touching an 084. I'm tired of dancing around this aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" With a huff of frustration she grabs the collar of his shirt pressing their lips together. They settle into the kiss with ease, one of his hands pulling her closer by her back and the other tangling in her hair. She waits for a beat hoping she doesn't hear the shout of the waiter's voice once again. Only the pounding of her heart echoes in her ears though.

They pull apart once more, his forehead resting against hers. They remain close so that his nose still brushes against hers. She smiles slightly brushing her lips against his.

"No more wasting time." He agrees pressing his lips against hers once more.


End file.
